Chazz's Crazy Christmas Eve Ride
by Midna Azusa
Summary: Twas the night before Christmas, and, at Slifer Red, Chazz took a large object to an old man's head. Having knocked out the fellow, Chazz then realized that he had to go out on a Christmas Eve ride. With Jaden and Syrus tagging along, this adventure would prove to be extremely long.


**Okay, all, I have a Christmas special for you! It's a one-shot, and a long one at that. Shadgirl2 and I wrote it, mostly Shadgirl2 if I'm being honest. This takes place during the second year at Duel Academy, with the Society of Light stuff not going on yet. Enjoy! I don't own Yugioh GX.**

It was December 24. What with Crowler and Bonaparte trying to demolish the Slifer Red Dorm, everyone had thought it would be best if they stayed at school for winter break. Chazz walked into his room, the part that had become basically a common room for him and his friends, and saw Alexis, Atticus, Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, and Hassleberry writing what appeared to be letters to Santa.

Certain that he had to be imagining that—at least with Alexis and Bastion—Chazz did a double-take. Sure enough, they were writing letters to Santa. _Aren't they too old for that? I mean, not that it surprises me that the slacker is doing it, but still..._

"Okay, what are you idiots doing now?" he asked. "No offense, Alexis, but aren't you too old for this?"

"Well, let's just say I've got my reasons," Syrus said.

"Yeah," Hassleberry said. "We all need something to believe in, and if the Sarge still believes, I believe, too!"

Ever the competitive friend, Syrus retorted, "Well, I believe even more than _he_ does, then! After all, even Jaden knows you don't have to see something to know it's real, right?"

Hassleberry growled. "Well, I think that—"

"Guys, guys!" Jaden interrupted. "Be nice, or you'll end up on Santa's naughty list, and you won't get anything but coal in your stockings!"

"Right. My bad," Syrus and Hassleberry said together.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Chazz," Alexis said. "It's not like I still believe in Santa as a person. But he does exist as a symbol of the joy people feel at Christmas time! That's why I always write to him each year. That, and it's a family tradition."

Atticus grinned, nodding in agreement.

Chazz sweat, then looked at Bastion. "Surely you of all people aren't dumb enough to still believe, right? I mean, we both know there's no such thing as Santa Claus anyway. So why are _you_ doing this?"

Bastion's eyes widened, and he blushed, somewhat embarrassed.

"Uh, well..." he started. _Why _am_ I doing this?_ he wondered silently.

Chazz sighed. "Whatever. If you guys wanna waste your time writing letters that are meaningless to anyone but the trash collectors, be my guest."

He walked off, leaving the others to their pointless holiday activity.

"What was that all about?" Syrus wondered.

"Chazz must have been on Santa's naughty list a few too many times!" Jaden said.

* * *

That night, Chazz was sleeping soundly when Ojama Yellow woke him up, panicking.

"Boss! Boss! Get up! You're being robbed!"

"What!?" Chazz asked, sitting up.

Ojama Green joined his brother. "Yeah! There's some old guy downstairs! He has a sack slung over his back! He _must_ be a robber!"

"How the heck did a guy like that get in here!?"

Chazz grabbed a textbook—finally a good use for the stupid thing—and headed down to confront the intruder. The room was dark, and he couldn't see very well. What he _did_ see was a figure in his room, and he didn't like it.

"Stop right there! No one robs The Chazz and gets away with it!"

He pounced on the startled man, whacking him in the head with the textbook and knocking him out.

The lights came on, and Chazz gasped. The man lying on the floor had a white beard and was dressed in a red coat and hat, black boots, and green gloves.

"What the hell!?"

Chazz tore his eyes away from the jolly old elf—who he quite frankly thought could stand to lose a few pounds—and saw a little man in green standing next to the light switch, looking very much annoyed.

"Oh, now you've done it, kid," the little man said. "Way to ruin Christmas."

The man walked up to Chazz and started scolding him for knocking out the big guy.

* * *

Upstairs, Syrus was also awake, panicking as he shook Jaden, trying to wake him.

"Jaden! Jaden!" he said frantically. "Get up! There's someone on the roof!"

The brunette yawned and rolled over, still asleep. Syrus shook him harder.

"GET UP ALREADY!" he screamed. "WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!"

Jaden bolted up. "Ah! What!? What's going on!?" He looked around, half expecting something to be on fire. Or worse, for them to be inside the volcano again. Everything seemed normal, though.

"There's someone on the roof!" Syrus said. "Couldn't you hear them, Jay!? Honestly, how can you even _sleep _with all this noise!?" He put a hand on his head, annoyed at how heavy a sleeper his best friend and roommate was.

The sound of thumping and scratching was coming through the ceiling, making enough noise to convince Syrus that Jaden could sleep through a hurricane. Which reminded him, didn't he have two roommates_?_

Syrus looked up to the top bunk, where Hassleberry was still sound asleep. _Hassleberry's still sleeping, too! Unbelievable!_

Jaden looked up, then looked at Syrus, his expression one of awe. "Sy, that's SANTA!" he said.

"What!? Jay, that's crazy! Don't tell me you seriously still believe in him, do you!?"

Jaden headed outside to check it out, effectively answering Syrus's question.

"Bro, wait up!" he called, following his crazy friend out the door. But not before stopping and grabbing a weapon to defend them from whoever was _really_ on the roof.

* * *

Jaden was staring at the roof in awe when Syrus came charging out of their room with a baseball bat.

"W-where is he!?" he asked, looking around frantically. "Is he still here, Jay!?"

Jaden pointed to the roof. "Sy, you might wanna look up."

Syrus looked up at the roof and dropped his bat in awe. There, on the roof of the dorm, was a red sleigh with eight reindeer stomping around.

"What's that? It can't be."

They heard a voice down below. A familiar voice.

"I said, 'hands off,' ya little brat!" Chazz said.

"I told you already! It's not 'Brat,' it's Reginald!" another voice, this one new, responded.

Jaden and Syrus looked down to see Chazz, wearing a red suit, being dragged out by a man in a green suit. The other man was about the same height as Syrus, maybe shorter.

"I already told you, I am NOT doing this!"

"Hey, Chazz!" Jaden called to his friend. "What's up?"

"This _fool_ here won't leave me alone!" Chazz answered, pointing at the man called Reginald.

"Who are you calling a fool!? I'm not the one who knocked the boss unconscious! And on such a busy night, too! You_ have_ to make it up to him! Now let's go! We're wasting time!"

"I'm not gonna do this! Just leave me alone already!"

Syrus stared, stunned and confused. He wasn't grasping what was going on at all.

"Bro...what's going on?" he asked Jaden.

Jaden, not entirely sure himself, decided to ask Chazz. "Chazz, what did you do to tick that elf off so bad?"

"This is no elf!" Chazz answered. "It's just some weirdo in a dumb costume who barged into my room and is trying to get me to 'finish the job' his fat friend started!"

"I beg your pardon!?" Reginald said, clearly insulted.

Jaden was getting a bad feeling. "Uh, Chazz? What do you mean, his fat friend...?"

The answer came from the elf. "_This_ fool here knocked Santa unconscious and now, by elf law, must take his place and finish his deliveries. Think of it as community service, kid."

"It's not against the law to knock out a man who broke into your room at night!" Chazz retorted.

"You knocked out Santa!?" Jaden asked. "Bro, that's just messed up! You _have_ to finish his job! What about all the good little boys and girls waiting for their presents from Santa?"

"Don't tell me you believe all this garbage!? Then fine! Why don't you do it, then!?"

As Syrus's brain finally caught up with his eyes, he asked, "But aren't you the one who knocked him out in the first place?"

"Precisely why our law states that _he_ has to do it!" Reginald said. "No substitutes allowed!"

"Come on, Chazz! You've _got_ to!" Jaden pleaded.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Syrus said. "Maybe we can help him. That way, he won't have to do all the work alone, right?"

Reginald muttered, "Well, that's why _I'm_ here, but..."

"Yeah! Great idea, Syrus!" Jaden turned his attention back to Chazz. "What do you say, Chazz?"

What did he say? Fly around in a sleigh, delivering Christmas presents, with Jaden and _his_ little elf? That wasn't exactly on the top of Chazz's Christmas wish list. He growled.

"Why do I get the feeling you guys won't take no for an answer?"

"Because it's _your _fault in the first place!" Reginald said.

"Come on, Chazz! Please?" Syrus said. "We could help you out if you fell off the roof or something."

Chazz growled again, then let out a sigh. "I guess I have no choice, then. Alright. I'll play along. But you two better not get in the way, you hear me!?"

Jaden pumped his fist in the air. "Alright! Guess this means we get to be Santa's helpers this year, Syrus!"

"Yay!"

_Idiots,_ Chazz thought. _How did I ever let them talk me into this!?_

"Yes, that's all well and good, but we need to get going," Reginald said. "There's still a lot to do, and we're running behind enough as it is!"

The four of them climbed onto the roof and boarded the sleigh. Reginald gave Chazz a crash course in driving, which Syrus sincerely hoped was as easy as the elf made it sound.

"This is so ridiculous," Chazz muttered, hardly paying attention to what the elf was saying.

With every desire to get this over with, he cracked the reigns, causing the reindeer to fly off to the next destination.

* * *

At the first house, Reginald handed Chazz a small piece of paper, the list of presents for this house. "Okay, all you've got to do now is go down that chimney and drop off the gifts on the list. Got it?"

Chazz, feeling like an idiot in the Santa suit, said, "Easier said than done! Do you know just how dangerous this is!? Why not have one of those dweebs go instead!?" He pointed at Syrus and Jaden, as if it would be less dangerous for one of them to do this job.

"Because you're the one in the suit," Reginald said, making Chazz wish with all his heart that Jaden was the one dressed like this. "You can take one of us with you if you want, but you have to deliver the gifts yourself, understand?"

Chazz growled. He really didn't want to do this. Jumping down a chimney—what if he broke his neck or something?

"Come on, Chazz!" Jaden called. "You can do it. If you want, I'll go down with you."

"Yeah!" Syrus added.

Not wanting _that_, Chazz climbed into the chimney, saying, "No thanks! I can do this mysellllf!"

There was a loud crash as Chazz landed.

"You okay!?" Jaden called, a bit worried about his friend.

"Oh, I'm just peachy!" Chazz called sarcastically. "_You_ wanna try!?"

"Uh, well—"

"Oh, never mind! Don't come down! I'll meet you up there!" Mumbling, Chazz added, "Somehow."

Getting up the chimney again would be fun, but Chazz decided to worry about that after he dropped off these stupid toys.

Thinking of all the chaos that might ensue, Reginald said to himself, "Maybe this was a bad idea..."

* * *

Later in a park, after Chazz had flown too low to the ground and crashed, startling the reindeer and setting them loose, Reginald was sitting in the sleigh while the three boys tried to round up the deer. Arms crossed and being totally useless, Reginald said, "Yup! This was definitely a bad idea!"

Chazz ran past, chasing a deer. "Come here already, Comet!" he called in irritation.

"Jay! Help meee!" Syrus begged as he ran from Dancer, who seemed to be having fun chasing him.

"Whoa, Dancer!" Jaden called. "How about leaving my friend alone and coming over here for some yummy reindeer food?" He held up a handful of corn, hoping that reindeer ate that. He'd seen it on TV, so he figured they did.

Reginald sighed. "_This_ is going to be a long night..."

* * *

After rounding up the deer, the gang got back on track. On the roof of yet another two-story house, Chazz was trying to convince Syrus to go with him. Syrus, of course, would be going down first.

"So, you want _me_ to go down with you!?" Syrus asked, pointing at himself incredulously. "But every time you go down one of those things, you get hurt! Why not ask Jaden to go!?"

"Cause he doesn't fit the part 'little' elf," Chazz snapped. "Now get down there!"

"Come on, Sy!" said Jaden. "Do it for the kids!"

Syrus took a deep breath and went down the chimney. There was a loud crash as he hit the bottom.

"Ow! I think I broke something!" he called.

Jaden stood next to the chimney with Chazz, getting a little worried as the two of them listened to Syrus whine some more.

"What are _you_ complaining about!? I've been down way more—"

"OWW!"

"Oh, brother..." Chazz muttered.

"Syrus?" Jaden called. "You okay?"

"Quit playing around and get outta the way already! You're wasting my time by whining like a baby!" Chazz bellowed.

"But it hurts!"

"I said, 'get outta the way!'"

Jaden had had enough. Syrus really sounded hurt and was sitting alone in some random dude's house! Being the good friend that he is, Jaden slid down the chimney to help Syrus.

"Hey!" Chazz's eyes were bugging out of his head. "Where are _you_ going, Slacker!? I didn't tell you to jump in there, too!"

Chazz jumped in after him, and they landed in a heap in the fireplace, both of them on top of poor little Syrus.

"Oh, now look what you've done!" an irritated Chazz said.

Swirls in his eyes, the only thing Syrus could manage was "Ow..."

"Well, no one told you to follow me, Chazz," Jaden said.

This got a retort out of Chazz, leading to a brief argument between the two boys. Reginald waited impatiently in the sleigh.

_Okay, that's it_, he thought. _When this is over, I'm having a word with the boss about this ridiculous rule._

Once the three stooges had managed to deliver the gifts and get back on the roof, Reginald took a look at Syrus's leg, saying he had sprained his ankle. He wrapped it up with a red ribbon, and they took off for the next house.

* * *

As they flew over another town, Chazz complained about the useless help he had. "I can't believe you sprained your ankle after taking such a small fall, ya wimp!"

"Sorry..."

"Leave him alone, Chazz," Jaden said, not appreciating the mistreatment of his best friend. "It's your fault for making him go down there in the first place!"

"Hey, don't blame _me_ because your friend's got sticks for bones!"

"That was a two-story house, Chazz! It's a wonder he _didn't _break something, honestly!"

"Will you two quit arguing and focus?" Reginald yelled over the argument. "We _are _still on a deadline, you know."

Chazz humphed. "Idiot."

* * *

Chazz steered the sleigh down toward some bushes near an open convenience store the minute he saw one.

"Hold up! Why are you landing _here_!?" the elf asked, obviously perplexed.

Ignoring this, Chazz landed the sleigh, then handed Jaden a shopping list. "Okay, Slacker! Get in there and get us the stuff we need! Make it quick, too! We're running out of moonlight and we've still got all of North America left!"

"Okay," Jaden said as he ran into the store, glancing at the list and raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you going shopping at a time like _this_!?" Reginald asked, a look of horror on his face. "There's no time for this!"

"'Cause I'm tired of falling on my butt every time I go down one of those dumb chimneys!" Silently, Chazz added, _Besides, Syrus could use some _real_ medicine._

Jaden came back soon after with mountain-climbing gear and a first aid kit. "Here, Chazz. I got the stuff you wanted. Though I'm kinda surprised they _had_ some of this stuff..."

"Great. Get in," Chazz said. "'Grouchy' over here's getting impatient."

"Excuse me!?" Reginald said, obviously insulted.

Chazz ignored the elf. "Come on! We ain't got all night, ya know!"

Jaden got back in the sleigh, and Chazz took off for the next house. Syrus looked over the supplies Jaden had brought back.

"What's all this stuff?" Syrus asked.

"You can thank me later," Chazz answered.

Syrus still didn't get it. Why did they need a grappling hook?

* * *

Later, Chazz was getting ready to go down another chimney, using the grappling hook. At least Syrus now understood what it was for. However, the chimney was falling apart, so Chazz made Jaden and Reginald hold onto the grappling hook so that he wouldn't fall in.

"If you drop me, Slacker, I'll never forgive you."

"I don't see why I have to do this," Reginald said. _The boss never makes me do stuff like this. Urg._

Jaden shrugged. "Well, this is what happens when you work with Chazz."

Chazz jumped in the chimney, and instantly Jaden and Reginald were struggling with the rope.

"UGH! He's heavy! I can't hold him! Why doesn't he just use the magic already!?" Reginald complained as he started sliding toward the chimney, Jaden being pulled along.

Jaden pulled on the rope, trying to keep them from falling in. "Magic? How's he supposed to do that?"

Before Reginald could answer, he and Jaden crashed into the chimney, breaking it and falling in. They landed in a heap in the fireplace, right on top of Chazz, who had just reached the bottom when they fell in.

"ARG! Can't you guys do anything right!?"

"...Do who now...?" a disoriented Reginald asked.

"Bro..." Syrus was wondering if everyone was okay down there.

"Get off already!"

* * *

When back in the air, Chazz went back to doing what he did best—complaining. "Geez! I'd be better off if a reindeer was helping me! Honestly, you three are completely useless."

Jaden, holding his head, asked, "How about you try using the magic already?"

"Magic?" Chazz asked, hoping someone could explain that. He was also hoping he wouldn't have to make a stop at a hospital because Jaden had hit his head too hard.

Reginald, with a cold pack on his head, said, "Yes, magic. How else do you expect us to get this job done every year? As you've already found out the hard way, this isn't a walk in the park. Why, without using magic, it's almost impossible to do."

Annoyed at the elf—yet relieved that Jaden wasn't in need of hospitalization—Chazz glared at Reginald. "Well, why didn't ya say something earlier!? Are you _trying_ to get me killed!?"

"I thought you already knew. That's an enchanted suit, after all."

"Really?" Syrus asked.

"This suit!? You mean, all this time, I've been wearing a magic suit that can make going up and down chimneys a little easier, and you didn't tell me!?"

"Reg," Jaden said, "in the future, you might wanna explain that little bit. Anyone who'd be stupid enough to knock out Santa probably wouldn't know anything about the suit."

"I thought he'd be able to figure it out, seeing as how he sees spirits," Reginald said, pointing to the Ojama trio in the back of the sleigh wearing Santa hats.

_"Yeah, well, Boss isn't always that bright,"_ Ojama Green said.

_"You can say that again,"_ Black agreed.

"Oh, shut up!" Chazz turned to Reginald. "So, how's this dumb suit work, anyway?"

It seemed obvious after the elf explained it. "What!? That's _all_!?" Chazz exclaimed. _How come I _didn't_ figure that out!?_

Reginald grinned and said, "Yup. Pretty much."

_So, all this time, all I had to do was imagine I was inside or on the roof, and I would've gone there!? That's so unfair!_

"All this time," he muttered, growling in annoyance.

"Aw, too bad," Syrus teased. "That probably won't work for Chazz. He has no imagination."

"Shut up!" Chazz bellowed as Jaden laughed.

* * *

At the next stop, Chazz decided to try the magic suit out cautiously. He chose to send one of his helpers down, just in case. True, it would have made more sense to try imagining himself down there and then send someone down, but he didn't care.

"Okay, Slacker! Get down there and wait for me! If anything goes wrong, I want to make sure someone can catch me this time!"

"Right, okay," Jaden said, slightly reluctantly.

"Are you sure about that, Chazz?" Syrus asked. "Reginald just said the suit would get you down there and back up again safely. Why send Jay down there after what happened to me?"

"Aren't you the one who said I have no imagination, so the suit won't work for me?"

Syrus shut up, and Chazz turned back to Jaden. "What are you waiting for!? Morning to come before we're able to finish!? Let's go already!"

"Alright, alright," Jaden said, climbing into the chimney.

There was the usual loud noise as Jaden hit the floor, followed by a growl. This house had a dog, and Jaden had just woken it up.

Glad that someone else would be chased by the guard dog this time, Chazz grinned. "Hmm. That's not good."

Jaden stared at the dog. Never in his life had a golden retriever looked so scary. It growled again. "Uh, nice dog?"

"Y'know, I think I'll let you handle this one," Chazz said, dropping the sack down the chimney. "Good luck down there!" he added with an evil grin.

Finally, someone else could experience what it was like to be a chew toy. The fact that it was Jaden made it even better.

"Chazz!" Jaden called, his tone verging on panic. "What do you mean, you'll let me handle it!? Get down here!"

The dog started barking, then charged the intruder.

"Holy crap!" Jaden was trapped in the fireplace by the dog.

Unable to see any of this from the sleigh, Syrus called, "Bro!? What's going on!?"

"Hey, you can't do that!" Reginald complained. "Elf law clearly states—"

"Oh, who cares about that? As long as the toys get delivered by _someone_, what's it matter, right?" Chazz said. _Besides_, he added silently,_ this is way too much fun. _Turning his attention back to Jaden, grinning, he called, "Hurry up, now! We don't have all night!"

The dog had Jaden pinned to the wall, using the sack as a shield. It growled again.

"Uh, that's some set of chompers ya got there..." Jaden said nervously.

The dog growled again in response.

* * *

Later, back in the air, Syrus asked, "You okay, Jay?"

He had barely gotten out of there alive, and only thanks to Winged Kuriboh. The puffball lured the dog away, giving Jaden time to deliver the presents and climb back up the chimney. Honestly, Jaden still couldn't understand how the family had _slept _through all that!

"Oh, yeah, I'm great," Jaden said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "But, Chazz, next time you ask me to go down the chimney, I'm pushing you down, okay?"

Chazz grinned. "What's wrong, Slacker? That took longer than usual. Were you having soo much fun with your new friend that you lost track of time?" he teased.

"If I had actually gotten hurt, would you still be enjoying this so much?"

_Now you know how _I've_ felt all night. Man, I just can't _wait_ for this night to be over! I mean, can this possibly get any worse?_

Reginald checked his watch and started fidgeting. "Oh, dear. We're running out of time and we still have all of California to go. We'll never make it in time!"

"But we can't give up now!" Syrus said. "We've come so far! We're so close now! We can still make it! Right!?" He sounded a bit worried himself.

"Yeah!" Jaden said. "We can make it, I'm sure of it! We just gotta stop goofing around!" He eyed Chazz, who couldn't help but notice how the tables had turned—normally, he was telling Jaden to stop goofing around.

Reginald looked down. _I'm gonna be in so much trouble when the boss finds out about this. How can I ever explain to him that these crazy kids have ruined Christmas because I decided to bring them along? I was only supposed to bring Chazz! Now what do I do?_

Seeing the look on the elf's face, Chazz said, "Aw, quit worrying! We'll finish this thing, alright! I didn't get dragged out here so I could ruin Christmas, after all! Now quit moping, and let's finish this thing!"

"Yeah!" Jaden and Syrus agreed. Reginald still wasn't too sure.

* * *

Chazz managed to shave a lot of time off each stop when he actually used the magic of the suit. It turned out it also made guard dogs friendly, much to Jaden and Chazz's annoyance. Just in time, the sleigh left the last house, and they headed back to Duel Academy Island. Reginald was relieved and stunned.

"I can't believe we made it!" he said. "Just in time, too." Silently, he added, _And to think I thought I was going to get fired for failing. What a relief! It's about time these kids got serious._

Jaden grinned at Chazz. "What do you think Santa's gonna say about you schooling him? Get it? 'Schooling'?"

Chazz chose to ignore this extremely bad joke. "Don't know, don't care. I'm just glad this little adventure is almost over."

"So, you're not worried?" Syrus asked, starting to freak out a bit. "Santa's probably gonna be mad about it. What if he puts you on his permanent naughty list or something? Why, he might even take you to elf jail, or to work in the candy cane mines, or—"

Reginald offered some reassurance. "Don't worry. That's why we set up this system. This happens from time to time. See, people have a tendency to stop believing in us as they grow up, so if they _do _see us, they assume the worst and defend themselves. So, we decided a good way to deal with it was to make them help out. That way, the work still gets done, and they learn to believe in us again so that doesn't happen anymore. Like that one guy, Fred, all those years ago."

"Fred?" Jaden asked, blinking. "Like, Fred Flintstone? But I thought that was just a cartoon!"

"You'd be surprised, boy. A lot of stuff you humans watch is based in reality. That's the magic hidden in every human. They can bring that stuff to life as a fantasy, even though it really happened. Like those Duel Monsters of yours, for example."

"Wow. Makes you wonder what else is real," Jaden said, thinking about Camula the vampire; the pharaoh he dueled; the spirit that had been hosted by the King of Games, Yugi...

"Hmph! Just so long as I don't meet any Care Bears who want me to come make the world a happier place with them, I don't really care," Chazz said.

Jaden grinned. "You'd give Grumpy Bear a run for his money, Chazz."

"Hmph!"

* * *

Chazz landed the sleigh in front of the Slifer Red Dorm, having given up caring about subtlety. "Well, we're back. Finally," he said, muttering the last word.

Chazz ditched the suit and jumped out of the sleigh while Jaden and Reginald helped Syrus.

"Easy does it, son," Reginald said to the blunette.

Hassleberry, Alexis, and Santa came out of Chazz's room to greet them. Apparently, Alexis had been taking care of Santa, and the boy was helping her.

"Chazz, Syrus, Jaden?" Alexis asked. "What's going on here?"

"Chazz clomped Santa on the head, so we had to fill in for him," Jaden answered.

Bastion came running over. "No," he said, seeing the sleigh in front of the dorm. "That can't be. I'm seeing things! Is that _really_ Santa's sleigh!?"

"Sure does look like it, don't it?" Hassleberry said.

Bastion and Hassleberry turned to Jaden, Chazz, and Syrus, seeking an explanation.

"It's a long story, guys," Syrus said. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."

"Sir! I'm glad to see you're okay now!" Reginald said to his boss.

Santa put his hands on his hips and laughed. "Yes, I'm okay. Sorry if I worried you, Reginald. So, how did things go with Chazz here?" he said with a smile.

Jaden gaped for a moment, then said, "Oh, wow! Santa! I _told_ you he was real, Syrus!"

Syrus sweat a bit at this. "Jay..."

"Wait, you _knew_ I was with this guy!?" Chazz demanded, pointing at the elf.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Santa laughed. "Why, of course I did, Chazz! I always know when someone stops believing in me, just like I always know if you're naughty or nice! In fact, I was hoping you'd attack me like that so you could regain your holiday spirit!"

"My what!?"

Alexis looked at the old man. "So, wait, you _meant_ for all of this to happen?"

"Chazz has no holiday spirit?" Hassleberry asked. "I didn't know that."

"Why, of course! There comes a time in everyone's life when they stop believing. However, sometimes the feelings of disappointment are so strong they suck all the cheer right out of someone. Take Chazz, for instance. I remember the day his older brothers told him that Santa wasn't real. They said it was for babies and only fools actually believed in me. They told him to grow up and start thinking about the future and how he could make his wishes come true with his _own_ hands. 'There's no such thing as magic, Chazz! Nothing in this world is free, and no one's going to just _give_ you what you want. You have to earn it yourself! Now quit crying and go make something of yourself,' they said. This caused Chazz to never accept anything from anyone without paying them back. Even Christmas gifts. He didn't bother buying any for others or asking for them himself. Why, as far as he was concerned, Christmas was a stupid holiday. A fantasy meant to make the weak feel better. It's rather sad when you stop to think about it, really."

"Wow," Alexis said. "That _is_ sad..."

"Yeah. No wonder Chazz got so annoyed the other day," Syrus agreed.

"Man, the more I hear about his brothers, the more I'm glad I'm an only child...," Jaden said, feeling sorry for his friend.

Hassleberry nodded. "Yeah, me, too. That's just awful."

"So, I had hoped that seeing me and learning how I work might rekindle his belief in the magic of giving. So, Chazz, do you understand now? I go through that same routine every year so that all the good boys and girls can have a merry Christmas, even if they have hard lives. If it brings a smile to a lonely child's face, it doesn't matter how much work it takes. I'm just happy to share in their happiness, as everyone should be. After all, isn't that what Christmas is all about? Showing others how much you care and sharing in their happiness?"

Chazz thought about how Christmas was when he was little—everyone being nice to each other, even his brothers treating him nice; his parents taking time out of their busy schedules to spend the whole day with the family and enjoy the holiday. He hadn't seen a Christmas like that since he was little, and he had forgotten what it was like to feel like that. Then he thought of how happy all those kids and their dumb dogs would be when they opened the gifts he left them. He smiled.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." He looked at Santa, still smiling, then shook it off. "But don't _ever _make me do something like that again! I'm already gonna have nightmares about this one!"

Santa laughed. "Okay, if you promise not to attack me again!" he teased.

Chazz grinned slightly. "Deal."

The two of them shook hands.

"Well," Santa said, "I better get home before the missus starts thinking I fell off a roof and died or something."

"Like the last one did," Reginald muttered.

Santa climbed in the sleigh. "Come on, Reginald!" he called to his elf. "It's time to go!"

"Be right there, sir!" Reginald called before turning to the boys. "Well, it's been fun working with you," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Just do me a favor. Don't let this happen again, alright?"

"Hey, I doubt any of us are gonna be knocking Santa unconscious any time in the near future," Jaden said, grinning.

Chazz crossed his arms. "Hmph! Trust me. I wouldn't dream of it." Silently, he added, _Next time, I'm staying in bed!_

"Good. I certainly hope not!" Reginald said, eying Bastion warily. "Well, I'd love to stay and talk, but we're running late again! So, I guess this is goodbye. Take care, everyone!" He joined Santa in the sleigh. "Oh, and have a merry Christmas!"

The sleigh took off. The gang, minus Chazz, waved. "Bye! Merry Christmas, Santa!" they called.

"Merry Christmas to all!" Santa called as he flew out of sight.

Once the old man was definitely gone, Chazz said, "Well, glad that's over with."

Alexis looked at him and his "elves." "So, do you boys want to fill us in on how your little adventure went while we eat breakfast, then?" she asked.

"Oh! My dorm's having a special Christmas meal," Bastion said. "Anyone interested?"

"Count me in!" Jaden exclaimed.

"That sounds great!" Syrus said. "Thanks, Bastion!" He had seemingly forgotten that he was technically a Ra Yellow, so that was his dorm, too.

"I guess it would be okay," Chazz said. Muttering, he added, "Better than all those stale cookies people kept leaving out."

"Great! Then let's go, guys."

The gang headed off to enjoy a special meal and celebrate Christmas together. Yes, even Chazz.


End file.
